Whitecaps FC Residency teams hit the road for first matches of 2013

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency teams will be back in action this weekend to resume their United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) seasons following the holiday break.

Both squads face an away trip to California as the U-16s and the U-18s take on San Juan Soccer Club at Mather Soccer Complex on Saturday.

The U-18s currently find themselves in fourth place in the West Conference, Northwest Division with a 5W-5L-5D record, whilst San Juan SC sit bottom of the table with a record of 1W-6L-3D. Kickoff for the U-18 match is at 11 a.m. PT.

Later, at 1:30 p.m. PT, the U-16s (6W-4L-1D) will be hoping to close the gap on second place Seattle Sounders FC by beating the San Juan SC U-16s who are second-to-last in league standings with a 2W-6L-2D record.

U-18

In their last outing to end 2012, Gordon Forrest’s side lost 6-3 at home to Portland Timbers U-18s and will want to get their season back on track against San Juan.

“It’s great to be back in action after having a break,” said Forrest. “Players have been training hard to be back in action, but you never know how the break will affect players. We’ve been doing good preparation for these games, and had a few practice matches as well, so we should be prepared this weekend.”

U-16

The U-16s ended 2012 by continuing to round into solid form, as Craig Dalrymple’s team beat the Timbers U-16s 2-0 before the holidays. Now they will be looking to carry that form over to 2013.

“It’s our first game back after having a few days off for the holidays,” said Dalrymple. “I expect the players to be refreshed, recharged, and hungry for game action. We expect both groups to continue improving on their play from before the break.”